Wilderness.org - Bristol Bayhttp://wilderness.org/tags/bristol-bay
enNational tribal groups join opposition to Alaska’s proposed Pebble Minehttp://wilderness.org/update/national-tribal-groups-join-opposition-alaska%E2%80%99s-proposed-pebble-mine
<div class="field-group-format group_meta field-group-div group-meta speed-fast effect-none"><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Oct 3, 2011</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-node-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/bios/staff/tim-woody">Tim Woody</a></div></div></div></div><div class="field-group-format group_image field-group-div group-image speed-fast effect-none"><div class="field field-name-field-content-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://wilderness.org/sites/default/files/styles/blog_full/public/bristol-bay-alaskA.jpg?itok=9H0gThvO" width="500" height="263" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-video field-type-file field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"></div></div><div class="field field-name-media-description field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p>Bristol Bay, Alaska</p>
</div></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>Opposition to the proposed Pebble Mine in Alaska&rsquo;s Bristol Bay is growing to the point that one has to wonder who &mdash; outside of the mining companies &mdash; could still support the idea of an open-pit mine that would endanger a pristine watershed where tens of millions of salmon spawn each year.</p>
<p>Lydia Olympic, The Wilderness Society&rsquo;s tribal advocate, works tirelessly to educate indigenous people on <a href="http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2011/08/allowing-mining-in-bristol-bay-puts-wildlife-at-risk/" target="_blank">the threat </a>of what would be the world&rsquo;s largest open-pit mine.&nbsp; She recently scored another victory when she attended a conference of the National Tribal Environmental Council and persuaded tribal groups from across the nation to pass a resolution asking the federal government to protect this fragile watershed that is so vital to Alaska Natives who rely on subsistence fishing to feed their families.</p>
<p>The resolution asks the Environmental Protection Agency to use its authority under the Clean Water Act to prohibit the discharge of dredged or fill material before the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers can issue permits structured to ensure the protection of traditional subsistence resources used by Alaska Natives. It also nominates Bureau of Land Management lands in the Kvichak and the Nushagak watershed for designation as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern.</p>
<p>A company known as the Pebble Limited Partnership hopes to develop the mine roughly 200 miles southwest of Anchorage and just north of Iliamna. Pebble Mine would be the largest open-pit mine in North America, involving the excavation of billions of tons of raw ore containing copper, gold and molybdenum. Toxic runoff from the mine could endanger the largest remaining wild sockeye salmon run in the world, which sustains the world&rsquo;s richest commercial wild-salmon fishery; the habitat for tens of millions of salmon that spawn in the streams of the Bristol Bay watershed; and the subsistence ways of life of Alaska Natives. While opposition to the mine is strong, mining companies are <a href="http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2011/08/with-billions-at-stake-in-bristol-bay-mining-company-spends-big/" target="_blank">spending millions </a>of advertising dollars to muster support.</p>
<p>Lydia made a presentation to the NTEC conference that included this video&nbsp; showing what is at stake in the battle for the future of Bristol Bay. In coming weeks, Lydia will be taking the anti-Pebble message to the National Congress of American Indians when it meets in Oregon, and the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission during a gathering in Washington state.</p>
<p>The outrageous environmental risk posed by the development of Pebble Mine has inspired opposition not only in Alaska but across the nation, and united sport and subsistence-fishing interests, commercial fishermen and seafood processors, Native groups, former state and federal regulators and elected officials, conservation groups, and even churches.</p>
<p>Lydia&rsquo;s outreach and education efforts are expanding awareness and increasing opposition to the mine among indigenous groups throughout the United States and beyond.</p>
<p>And the more people learn about Pebble Mine, the harder it will be for Pebble Limited Partnership to devastate Bristol Bay in the name of greed.</p>
</div></div></div>Mon, 03 Oct 2011 04:00:00 +00001451 at http://wilderness.orghttp://wilderness.org/update/national-tribal-groups-join-opposition-alaska%E2%80%99s-proposed-pebble-mine#commentsPebble Mine makes ballot; Will Alaskans save Bristol Bay from open-pit mine?http://wilderness.org/update/pebble-mine-makes-ballot-will-alaskans-save-bristol-bay-open-pit-mine
<div class="field-group-format group_meta field-group-div group-meta speed-fast effect-none"><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Sep 26, 2011</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-node-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/bios/staff/tim-woody">Tim Woody</a></div></div></div></div><div class="field-group-format group_image field-group-div group-image speed-fast effect-none"><div class="field field-name-field-video field-type-file field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>In the long, ongoing battle over Alaska&rsquo;s Pebble Mine, the people who would be most affected by it &mdash; the residents of Alaska&rsquo;s Lake and Peninsula Borough &mdash; are voting on an initiative designed to prevent the mine from becoming a reality in the wild and pristine Bristol Bay region.</p>
<p>A company known as the Pebble Limited Partnership hopes to develop the mine roughly 200 miles southwest of Anchorage and just north of Iliamna. Pebble Mine would be the largest open-pit mine in North America, involving the excavation of billions of tons of raw ore containing copper, gold and molybdenum.</p>
<p>Nearly 1,200 registered voters in the borough are already mailing in ballots to officially stake out their positions on the controversial mine and the related Save Our Salmon initiative, which would prohibit the Lake and Peninsula Borough from issuing permits for mining projects that would threaten to destroy salmon habitat.</p>
<p>The Wilderness Society&rsquo;s Tribal Advocate, Lydia Olympic, is one of a very few people who have been going door to door in an effort to educate people in the region about the effects of the proposed Pebble Mine on salmon habitat, as well as cultural traditions and subsistence activities for residents of the area.</p>
<p>Legal challenges from Pebble Limited Partnership and the state of Alaska are sure to follow if the initiative passes, but what&rsquo;s&nbsp; at stake is the largest remaining wild sockeye salmon run in the world, which sustains the world&rsquo;s richest commercial wild-salmon fishery; the habitat for tens of millions of salmon that spawn in the streams of the Bristol Bay watershed; and the subsistence ways of life of Alaska Natives who depend on fishing to feed their families. Sixty-five percent of the borough&rsquo;s residents Alaska Natives, and most continue to practice traditional subsistence fishing activities that have sustained their people and culture for thousands of years.</p>
<p>If Pebble Mine were developed, Native communities in southwest Alaska&nbsp; would be subjected to pollution from the mine, which has the potential to be larger than Utah&rsquo;s infamous Bingham Canyon Mine, which has contaminated drinking water for thousands.</p>
<p>Lydia is an Alaska Native from the village of Igiugig on Lake Iliamna and the Kvichak River, which drains into Bristol Bay. She grew up fishing, and still returns home each summer to help her family catch salmon and gather food for winter, but spends most of her time organizing and teaching people about development proposals that threaten Bristol Bay&rsquo;s salmon, wildlife, and Native culture.</p>
<p>&ldquo;This land of bounty has provided for our families, our culture and our traditional way of life for tens of thousands of years,&rdquo; Lydia said. &ldquo;This land is what we call home. We need our lands and waters to stay pristine to continue living healthy lifestyles. We will still be here long after the mining companies have left.&rdquo;</p>
<p>It is estimated that Pebble Mine, if developed, would extract more than 10 billion tons of rock, making it potentially larger than the Bingham Canyon Mine, which was also developed to excavate copper, gold and molybdenum. The Utah mine &mdash; where six billion tons of rock have been excavated, so far &mdash; covers nearly 27,000 acres with a pit that is three-quarters of a mile deep and more than 2.5 miles across, and has a groundwater contamination zone that extends for 72 square miles.</p>
<p>Acid leaching from the Utah mine&rsquo;s waste rock has tainted drinking water for thousands of residents of Salt Lake City, and the mine&rsquo;s &ldquo;north zone&rdquo; is so contaminated that it has&nbsp; been proposed as a federal Superfund site.</p>
<p>Concern that Pebble Mine could cause the same kind of environmental damage in Alaska has unified a vast coalition of sport and subsistence-fishing interests, commercial fishermen and seafood processors, Native groups, former state and federal regulators and elected officials, conservation groups, and even churches.</p>
<p>Pebble Limited Partnership, which includes Northern Dynasty Minerals and the giant mining company Anglo American, has waged its own public relations campaign to convince the public that the mine would be an economic boon to the Lake and Peninsula Borough region.</p>
<p>Who has won the hearts and minds of the Alaskans who would live closest to the Pebble Mine?</p>
<p>Residents&rsquo; votes are due by Oct. 4. After that, we&rsquo;ll have an answer.</p>
</div></div></div>Mon, 26 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0000Foster Burgess1673 at http://wilderness.orghttp://wilderness.org/update/pebble-mine-makes-ballot-will-alaskans-save-bristol-bay-open-pit-mine#commentsThe Risk to Bristol Bayhttp://wilderness.org/recent-coverage/risk-bristol-bay
<div class="field-group-format group_meta field-group-div group-meta speed-fast effect-none"><div class="field field-name-field-date-published field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2011-02-12T19:00:00-05:00">Feb 12, 2011</span></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-link field-type-link-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/14/opinion/14mon3.html?_r=1&amp;partner=rssnyt&amp;emc=rss" target="_blank">Editorial board, New York Times</a></div></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>
Excerpts:</p>
<p>
Anglo American, the London-based multinational powerhouse behind the project, says it can extract the minerals safely. But historically the mining industry has done a sloppy job of protecting the environment. Mining residues, like sulfide-laced rock, are toxic. No matter how hard the company tries to sequester them &mdash; it proposes to build a 740-foot-high dam to contain the waste &mdash; an earthquake or other disturbance can jar them loose.</p>
<p>
&hellip;The E.P.A. is right to do this study. We are certain it will find that the mine presents unacceptable risks and should not be allowed to proceed.</p>
</div></div></div>Sun, 13 Feb 2011 07:00:00 +0000104324 at http://wilderness.orghttp://wilderness.org/recent-coverage/risk-bristol-bay#comments'Deadliest Catch' skipper slams Pebble mining projecthttp://wilderness.org/recent-coverage/deadliest-catch-skipper-slams-pebble-mining-project
<div class="field-group-format group_meta field-group-div group-meta speed-fast effect-none"><div class="field field-name-field-date-published field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2009-05-20T06:16:53-04:00">May 20, 2009</span></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-link field-type-link-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://www.adn.com/money/industries/fishing/story/801698.html" target="_blank">Elizabeth Bluemink, Anchorage Daily News</a></div></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>Excerpts:</p>
<p>The ads, paid for by the Renewable Resources Coalition, an anti-Pebble nonprofit in Anchorage, are already running in some Alaska magazines and are pegged to run on statewide TV later this year.</p>
<p>Eventually, conservation groups hope to target a national audience with the &quot;Deadliest Catch&quot; ads, said Lindsay Bloom, who works for Trout Unlimited, another nonprofit group that opposes Pebble. Bloom, a Bristol Bay commercial fisherman, set up the ad shoot.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
</div></div></div>Wed, 20 May 2009 16:16:53 +0000101930 at http://wilderness.orghttp://wilderness.org/recent-coverage/deadliest-catch-skipper-slams-pebble-mining-project#commentsBristol Bay, Bering Sea no place for oil and gas drillinghttp://wilderness.org/recent-coverage/bristol-bay-bering-sea-no-place-oil-and-gas-drilling
<div class="field-group-format group_meta field-group-div group-meta speed-fast effect-none"><div class="field field-name-field-date-published field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2009-03-27T08:04:35-04:00">Mar 27, 2009</span></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-link field-type-link-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://www.adn.com/opinion/compass/story/738025.html" target="_blank">Dan Strickland, Anchorage Daily News</a></div></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>Excerpts:</p>
<p>The last two decades have shown that profits are high on the oil industry's list of priorities, while safety measures are implemented only if a strong-willed public insists upon them.</p>
<p>&hellip; A recent report by the Marine Conservation Alliance showed the seafood industry remains Alaska's largest private sector employer, generating 56,600 direct and 22,000 indirect jobs annually &mdash; more than the oil and gas and mining industries combined.</p>
<p>&hellip; On April 14, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is coming to Anchorage to hear Alaska's voice on oil and gas development in Bristol Bay and the Bering Sea. With our vision sharpened from the prism of the Exxon Valdez, let's stand resoundingly behind renewable resources, a clean environment, and permanent protection for the waters of Bristol Bay and the Bering Sea.<br />&nbsp;</p>
</div></div></div>Fri, 27 Mar 2009 18:04:35 +0000101506 at http://wilderness.orghttp://wilderness.org/recent-coverage/bristol-bay-bering-sea-no-place-oil-and-gas-drilling#commentsLessons of the Exxon Valdezhttp://wilderness.org/recent-coverage/lessons-exxon-valdez
<div class="field-group-format group_meta field-group-div group-meta speed-fast effect-none"><div class="field field-name-field-date-published field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2009-03-23T09:14:44-04:00">Mar 23, 2009</span></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-link field-type-link-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/23/opinion/23mon1.html?_r=2&amp;ref=opinion" target="_blank">Editorial Board, New York Times</a></div></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>Excerpts: Yet the Exxon Valdez still sends a powerful cautionary message: oil development, however necessary, is an inherently risky, dirty business &mdash; especially so in the forbidding waters of the Arctic.</p>
<p>&hellip;Mr. Salazar must also make decisions about the waters of Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico, which hold the bulk of America&rsquo;s untapped reserves and have always been open to drilling. Drilling in the gulf has caused relatively few environmental problems and is widely accepted. Drilling in Alaskan waters is another issue altogether. The unforgiving Arctic environment is far riskier; icy, turbulent waters would make oil spills hard to contain. And the ecological damage could be staggering; Alaska&rsquo;s waters contain some of the richest fisheries and most varied wildlife on earth.</p>
<p>One fairly easy call for Mr. Salazar would be to restore protections for Alaska&rsquo;s Bristol Bay. President George H. W. Bush declared the bay off-limits to drilling after the Exxon Valdez disaster &mdash; a move reversed by his son George W. Bush in 2007.</p>
<p>&hellip;The Bush administration had even more ambitious plans for other waters in the Arctic &mdash; opening 40 million acres in the Chukchi Sea and 33 million acres in the Beaufort Sea for possible development. It sold one lease, now under court challenge, covering 2.3 million acres in 2008. Unless the Obama administration changes course, other leases within these areas are sure to be offered.</p>
<p>These plans, too, cry out for reconsideration. <br />&nbsp;</p>
</div></div></div>Mon, 23 Mar 2009 19:14:44 +0000101473 at http://wilderness.orghttp://wilderness.org/recent-coverage/lessons-exxon-valdez#commentsWilderness Society Cautiously Welcomes Alaska Component of Offshore Drilling Announcementhttp://wilderness.org/press-release/wilderness-society-cautiously-welcomes-alaska-component-offshore-drilling-announcement
<div class="field-group-format group_meta field-group-div group-meta speed-fast effect-none"><div class="field field-name-field-release-date field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2010-03-31T01:00:00-04:00">Mar 31, 2010</span></div></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <h3>The Wilderness Society today cautiously welcomed the Obama Administration's announcement regarding decisions about offshore oil and gas development in Alaska.</h3>
<p>Bill Meadows, the President of The Wilderness Society said:</p>
<p>&quot;The Wilderness Society fully supports the President's decision to protect Bristol Bay from leasing and development.&nbsp;&nbsp; The world-class fishery of Bristol Bay is too valuable to risk losing to the impacts of offshore oil and gas development, and we are hopeful that such protections will be afforded the region&rsquo;s onshore federal lands as well. We are grateful that the Administration intends to make the future decisions about the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas on the basis of solid science, and we expect that all ocean aquatic resources will be evaluated during that process.&nbsp; However, we remain concerned that the door is open to future lease sales in the Arctic Ocean.&quot;</p>
<p class="rteleft">TWS cautions that Alaska remains Ground-Zero for early severe global warming impacts, such as native villages falling into the sea from coastal erosion. The decision to delay leasing in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas, and the permanent withdrawal of lease sales in Bristol Bay, buys the time needed for a thorough review of the science affecting the area.&nbsp; The more apparent the impacts of the climate crisis become, the more compelling will be the case that we need renewable substitutes for environmentally-destructive oil and gas.</p>
<p class="rteleft">Read more about The Wilderness Society's position on the administration's offshore drilling announcement&nbsp;<a href="http://wilderness.org/content/shore-drilling-debate-bill-meadows-weighs-national-journal">here</a>.</p>
<p class="rteleft">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="rtecenter">###</p>
<p><em>The Wilderness Society is the leading public-lands conservation organization working to protect wilderness and inspire Americans to care about our wild places. Founded in 1935, and now with more than 500,000 members and supporters, TWS has led the effort to permanently protect 110 million acres in 44 states. </em></p>
</div></div></div>Wed, 31 Mar 2010 17:16:41 +0000103061 at http://wilderness.orghttp://wilderness.org/press-release/wilderness-society-cautiously-welcomes-alaska-component-offshore-drilling-announcement#commentsAdministration should proceed carefully on Outer Continental Shelf drillinghttp://wilderness.org/blog/administration-should-proceed-carefully-outer-continental-shelf-drilling
<div class="field-group-format group_meta field-group-div group-meta speed-fast effect-none"><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">May 19, 2009</div></div></div></div><div class="field-group-format group_image field-group-div group-image speed-fast effect-none"><div class="field field-name-field-video field-type-file field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>On April 17, a federal court ruling vacated a Bush-era 5-year drilling plan for the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).</p>
<p>The court ruling came shortly after a decision by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to put the brakes on another 5-year offshore drilling program that had been pushed through in the final days of the Bush administration.</p>
<p>Both plans would open areas of the Chukchi, Beaufort, and Bering Seas to oil and gas leasing, exploration and drilling. The court decision and delays suggest some progress toward restoring a more thoughtful and cautionary approach to offshore energy planning. But, Alaska&rsquo;s offshore waters are far from safe.</p>
<p>On May 11, Salazar asked the Department of Justice for clarification about the April 17 court decision. In his brief to the court, he reiterated that the Bush 5-Year plan was illegal, but also expressed the Department of Interior&rsquo;s interest in moving forward with oil and gas activity on already-issued leases in the Chukchi Sea.</p>
<p>It is The Wilderness Society&rsquo;s position that oil and gas activity should not proceed anywhere in the Bering Sea, Chukchi Sea, and Beaufort Seas until further studies are completed. We believe that the Department of the Interior should defer all oil and gas activity until meaningful environmental analyses are conducted, and the needs of native subsistence users and other stakeholders are fully understood. Only then can we move forward with a science-driven plan.</p>
<p>The April 17 court decision vacated the Bush administration&rsquo;s 2007-2012 OCS program on the basis that it contained an irrational analysis of the impacts of oil and gas development activities on the fragile Arctic marine ecosystems.</p>
<p>Now, the Interior Department and the Obama administration has an opportunity to do things right.</p>
<p>Specifically, The Wilderness Society together with several Alaska Native tribal governments and conservation organizations have urged the Obama administration to take a new, careful approach to energy planning for both on and offshore areas in Alaska by developing a comprehensive conservation and energy plan for the whole of America&rsquo;s Arctic. This plan should be based on sound science and determine if, when, where, and how development should proceed in order to protect the environment and the cultural identity, subsistence livelihoods and cultures of Alaska Native people.</p>
<p>The Obama administration should defer all new oil and gas development and related activities until an Arctic Ocean comprehensive plan is completed.</p>
<p>In the Bering Sea and Bristol Bay &mdash; one of the most important commercial fisheries in the world &mdash; a moratorium should be reinstated on any and all leasing and drilling for oil or gas. Fishing is the cornerstone of this region&rsquo;s economy and cultural traditions and it is just too precious to risk any development.</p>
</div></div></div>Tue, 19 May 2009 20:42:09 +0000101926 at http://wilderness.orghttp://wilderness.org/blog/administration-should-proceed-carefully-outer-continental-shelf-drilling#commentsBarbeque promotes protection for Alaska's Outer Continental Shelfhttp://wilderness.org/blog/barbeque-promotes-protection-alaskas-outer-continental-shelf
<div class="field-group-format group_meta field-group-div group-meta speed-fast effect-none"><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Apr 14, 2009</div></div></div></div><div class="field-group-format group_image field-group-div group-image speed-fast effect-none"><div class="field field-name-field-content-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://wilderness.org/sites/default/files/styles/blog_full/public/legacy/profiler/sign-AnneGore.jpg?itok=StV-UXy-" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-video field-type-file field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"></div></div><div class="field field-name-media-description field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-credit field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>I&rsquo;ve just returned from a lunch of freshly-grilled wild salmon. That&rsquo;s not unusual in Alaska.</p>
<p>What was different about this meal was the fact that it took place in downtown Anchorage, and I was joined by about 50 other people, including a woman dressed as a polar bear.</p>
<p>The sign in front of the BBQ grill read &ldquo;Grill, Baby, Grill&rdquo; &mdash; a play on words reflecting our position against those who would like to &ldquo;drill, baby, drill&rdquo; for oil and gas in Alaska&rsquo;s Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The purpose of our lunch was to celebrate Alaska&rsquo;s oceans and raise awareness about the importance of keeping these waters healthy and free from oil and gas development. Our group included environmentalists, Alaska Natives, fishermen, and others concerned about the impacts of possible development in Alaska&rsquo;s OCS.</p>
<p><img height="281" width="200" align="left" src="/sites/default/files/legacy/userfiles/polar-bear-costume-AnneGore.jpg" alt="" />Our salmon BBQ was held during a break between sessions of an all-day public hearing organized by the U.S. Department of Interior. Secretary Salazar was here to listen and gather information to help inform his decisions about OCS energy development. Just before Obama took office the Bush administration had proposed a new national leasing program in OCS waters, but Salazar says he wants more public comment before taking any action. He&rsquo;s already had hearings in Louisiana and New Jersey. Tomorrow he&rsquo;ll be in San Francisco.</p>
<p>In Alaska, The Wilderness Society is most concerned about how the OCS plan will affect the ocean ecosystems and coastal communities of the Arctic Ocean and Bristol Bay. Already stressed by the impacts of climate change, any further stress created by offshore oil and gas activities could cause species extinctions, with direct impacts to the native communities that depend on wildlife resources for cultural and nutritional subsistence. Oil spills are another concern, especially in the Arctic where no known technology exists for cleaning up oil spills in broken ice conditions. In Bristol Bay, the fisheries resources are worth more than $2 billion a year and provide jobs for thousands of fisherman, and workers in related jobs. Any short-term benefit of oil and gas development, when measured against the risks, is not worth it &mdash; at least not until we better understand the full scope of environmental, social, and economic impacts, and what&rsquo;s at stake.</p>
<p>That&rsquo;s why The Wilderness Society is calling for a time-out on any OCS leasing in Alaska. And, it is a position shared by our friends at the &ldquo;grill, baby, grill&rdquo; &mdash; many who spoke directly to Secretary Salazar today.</p>
<p><img height="300" width="200" align="left" src="/sites/default/files/legacy/userfiles/MayorItta-AnneGore.jpg" alt="" />Among the more eloquent speakers was Mayor Edward Itta from the North Slope Borough and a respected member of the native whaling community of Barrow that would be directly impacted by any offshore development. He explained that although his community has been supportive of other development in the past, they oppose offshore development. Mayor Itta pointed to the &ldquo;extreme risk&rdquo; and the need to adopt &ldquo;standards of higher caution&rdquo; for operating in broken ice conditions.</p>
<p>Another compelling speaker was a commercial fisherman from Homer who recounted his personal experience with the Exxon Valdez oil spill, which decimated the herring fishery. His testimony followed that of several individuals who support offshore drilling and used the standard pro-development rhetoric claiming that with &ldquo;responsible development&rdquo; and &ldquo;new technology&rdquo; oil development and healthy fisheries can coexist. The fisherman refuted this, saying it&rsquo;s been 20 years since the Exxon Valdez accident and he has yet to be able to fish for herring. He&rsquo;s seen what can happen and he no longer trusts oil companies. His bottom line: oil development and healthy fisheries simply are not compatible.</p>
<p>By the time I left the hearing for the lunch break, only a dozen or so people had been given the chance to speak. This afternoon, there will be many more people speaking, on both sides of the issues. Salazar won&rsquo;t hear the afternoon comments because he&rsquo;s headed to San Francisco for the last meeting on his OCS tour. But, in his closing remarks he said he has heard both sides of the issue and understands each side&rsquo;s passion and concerns. I want to believe that he will give thoughtful consideration to this issue and make the right choice.</p>
<p><img height="191" width="300" align="left" src="/sites/default/files/legacy/userfiles/salmon-plate-AnneGore.jpg" alt="" />After all, a wild salmon BBQ in Alaska is not so unusual. Not today. Not even on a chilly, overcast day in downtown Anchorage. But, it could be if Alaska&rsquo;s healthy ocean ecosystems are destroyed by the very real threat of offshore oil and gas development.</p>
<p><strong><span style="font-size: smaller;">photos:</span></strong><span style="font-size: smaller;"><br />Sign announcing event. Photo by Anne Gore.<br />Woman in polar bear costume. Photo by Anne Gore.<br />Mayor Itta speaking at OCS Hearing. Photo by Anne Gore.</span><br /><span style="font-size: smaller;">Wild salmon plate. Photo by Anne Gore.</span></p>
</div></div></div>Tue, 14 Apr 2009 09:54:32 +0000101800 at http://wilderness.orghttp://wilderness.org/blog/barbeque-promotes-protection-alaskas-outer-continental-shelf#commentsSalazar arrives in Alaska for off-shore drilling hearinghttp://wilderness.org/blog/salazar-arrives-alaska-shore-drilling-hearing
<div class="field-group-format group_meta field-group-div group-meta speed-fast effect-none"><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Apr 14, 2009</div></div></div></div><div class="field-group-format group_image field-group-div group-image speed-fast effect-none"><div class="field field-name-field-video field-type-file field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>Today is a big day in Anchorage. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar is in town to gather input to inform his agency&rsquo;s decisions about opening the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) to energy development. Anchorage is home base to many major oil companies that operate on Alaska&rsquo;s North Slope, so we expect a big turnout from both pro-development interests as well as those who are concerned about the environmental impacts of oil development in Alaska&rsquo;s pristine waters.</p>
<p>After opening remarks, the Secretary and Interior agency staff will present a brief overview of the Department's findings regarding Outer Continental Shelf energy resources. The rest of the meeting will be devoted to hearing from public and private interests on best approaches to developing a comprehensive offshore energy plan, including the development of traditional and renewable sources of energy on the OCS. Upon arrival each attendee will be asked to submit a comment card. In addition, all attendees who wish to deliver comments orally will be offered an opportunity to do so, time permitting.</p>
<p>The Wilderness Society is prepared to give testimony, but we will give our partners a chance to speak first. That includes people from native and fishing communities who will be directly impacted by any offshore development. If we do speak, here are some points we expect to make:</p>
<ol>
<li>Science should be the basis for coastal policy. Any new five-year plan should include a study to assess current environmental baseline information and the impacts of leasing, exploration, and development on ocean ecosystems and on coastal economies.<br />&nbsp;</li>
<li>Offshore oil and gas activities like seismic testing would directly impact Native Communities and marine wildlife along the Arctic coast. These communities depend on the wildlife resources of the Beaufort &amp; Chukchi Seas for cultural and nutritional subsistence, and they should be protected.<br />&nbsp;</li>
<li>Oil spills are likely and there is currently no way to adequately respond to oil spills in the Arctic Ocean especially in broken ice conditions. Federal agencies say there is a 33 to 55 percent chance for a large Arctic Ocean oil spill. Ice-breakers, platforms, and under-water pipelines all pose unknown hazards in the Arctic&rsquo;s ice laden and harsh weather conditions.<br />&nbsp;</li>
<li>Bering Sea and Arctic ecosystems are already under stress from climate change. Scientists have demonstrated that warming temperatures have already had significant and unprecedented effects on these regions. Any further stress, such as offshore oil and gas activities, will exacerbate these threats to the integrity and resilience of the ecosystem.<br />&nbsp;</li>
<li>Offshore Oil and Gas Drilling in the North Aleutian Basin threatens Bristol Bay&rsquo;s Economy and Ecosystem: Offshore oil and gas development poses tremendous risks to the sea life, Native communities, and fishing livelihoods that are dependent upon a healthy marine ecosystem. The fisheries alone are worth over $2 billion a year, sustaining thousands of fishermen, processors and workers in affiliated jobs.</li>
</ol>
<p>Stay tuned for <a href="barbeque-promotes-protection-alaska-outer-continental-shelf">another update</a> later in the day.</p>
</div></div></div>Tue, 14 Apr 2009 17:00:12 +0000101795 at http://wilderness.orghttp://wilderness.org/blog/salazar-arrives-alaska-shore-drilling-hearing#comments